MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will return to the World Series of Darts circuit for the German Darts Masters in Dusseldorf in October, with the field of PDC players for the inaugural event now confirmed.
The 16-player tournament will be held at the Castello Arena in Dusseldorf on October 20-21, and televised live on SAT.1 and ProSieben Maxx as the World Series of Darts visits Germany for the first time.
World Champion Van Gerwen missed the World Series treble-header in New Zealand and Australia in August to remain in the Netherlands for the birth of his first daughter.
However, he will compete in Dusseldorf next month as he bids to follow up victories in Shanghai and Las Vegas earlier this year with a third World Series title of 2017.
Gary Anderson, the winner in Dubai and Perth, will be the top seed for the German Darts Masters, with Melbourne Darts Masters winner Phil Taylor and Auckland Darts Masters champion Kyle Anderson also looking to continue their success after claiming World Series wins this year.
Flamboyant UK Open champion Peter Wright, five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, two-time World Series finalist James Wade and U.S. Darts Masters runner-up Daryl Gurney complete the field of PDC competitors in Dusseldorf, with the current top eight from the World Series Order of Merit earning selection.
The eight German players will be headlined by former World Youth Champion Max Hopp and Berlin-based youngster Martin Schindler, who are the top two German players from the PDC Order of Merit.
A further six players will qualify from the final German Superleague rankings on October 9 to complete the field of home players alongside Hopp and Schindler, with the current leading players in the rankings including former World Championship qualifiers Kevin Munch and Stefan Stoyke and former World Cup of Darts representative Maik Langendorf.
The German Darts Masters will begin on Friday October 20 (8pm local time) with the eight first round matches as the eight PDC Representatives are drawn against the eight German qualifiers for the tournament’s opening night.
Play continues on Saturday afternoon (2pm) with the quarter-finals, before the decisive evening session (8pm) sees the semi-finals and final take place.
Tickets for the 2017 German Darts Masters are available now from www.germandartsmasters.ticket.io.
Television coverage in Germany will be through ProSieben Maxx on Friday October 20 and SAT.1 on Saturday October 21, with worldwide coverage through the PDC’s series of international broadcast partners.
2017 German Darts Masters
PDC Representatives (in World Series Rankings Order)
1 Gary Anderson (Scotland)
2 Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
3 Phil Taylor (England)
4 Peter Wright (Scotland)
5 Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
6 James Wade (England)
7 Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland)
8 Kyle Anderson (Australia)
German Representatives
Max Hopp
Martin Schindler
Plus six players from final German Superleague rankings on October 9